The present invention relates to imaging devices in general and in particular to imaging devices having an image parsing operating mode.
Systems have been developed in which representations of signatures or other localized interest area indicia are captured with use of an imaging device. Problems have been noted with the system however. Many interest area image capture devices require specialized docking apparatuses, for holding an indicia bearing substrate in a certain axial stand-off position angular orientation and radial orientation relative to an imaging device. In other localized interest area image capture systems which do not require a docking apparatus then a user is required typically either to manually position an indicia bearing substrate in a certain axial stand-off position, angular orientation, and radial orientation relative to an imaging device or to position an imaging device in a certain axial stand-off position, angular orientation, and radial orientation relative to an indicia bearing substrate.
There is a need for an interest area image capture system which is easy to use, and does not require precise relative positioning between an indicia bearing substrate and an imaging device for operation.
According to its major aspects and broadly stated the invention is an image parsing system for execution by an imaging device in which a certain interest area of an electronically captured image, typically an area of an image comprising a signature, is parsed and either stored or transmitted for further processing.
The system includes an image reading instruction indicia positioned in a field of view of an imaging device and an imaging device specifically adapted for use in the system. The image reading instruction indicia may take on a variety of forms.
In accordance with a first type of image reading instruction indicia, the image reading instruction indicia comprises an parsing mode commencement indicator and at least one operation parameter indicator which determines an aspect of operation of an imaging device of the system which reads the image reading instruction indicia. When reading an image reading instruction indicia of the first type, an imaging device in accordance with the invention commences operation in an image parsing mode in which an aspect of the imaging parsing process is controlled by an operation parameter encoded in the image reading instruction indicia.
In a second type of image reading instruction indicia, the image reading instruction indicia comprises a parsing mode commencement indicator, and an identifier indicator. An image reading instruction indicia of the second embodiment is conveniently provided by an indicia other than a bar code symbol. When reading an image reading instruction indicia of the second type, the imaging device may parse and transmit image data of a scene comprising an image reading instruction indicia in a manner that depends on an identifier of the symbol.
In a third type of image reading instruction indicia, the image reading instruction indicia comprises an image parsing mode commencement indicator, but does not comprise either an operation parameter indicator or an identifier. When reading an image reading instruction indicia of the third embodiment, the imaging device operated in accordance with an image parsing program stored in a memory of or in communication with the imaging device. Variations of image parsing routings may be selected by the user.
In a fourth type of image reading instruction indicia, the image reading instruction indicia does not comprise any of a parsing mode commencement indicators, operation parameter indicator, or an identifier indicator. When reading an image reading instruction indicia of a fourth type an imaging device of the invention does not immediately commence operation in an image parsing mode. However, when the imaging device is later caused by a receipt of a user initiated command to operate in an image parsing mode, in image parsing routine is executed in a manner that depends on at least one feature of the image reading instruction indicia of the fourth type.
Preferably, whether the image reading instruction indicia is of the first, second, third, or fourth types, the imaging device of the invention, when executing an image parsing routine processed image data of a parsed section in accordance with at least one determined xe2x80x9cimaging characteristicxe2x80x9d of the image reading instruction indicia. The at least one imaging characteristic which may be determined from the image reading instruction indicia include an orientation characteristic, a scaling characteristic, and a distortion characteristic of the indicia.
The image reading instruction indicia of the invention may comprise, for example a bar code, a signature box, a string of text characters, a line, or a combination of the above types of markings.
These and other details, advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment hereinbelow.